Noel Coward Blends Farce & Wit in Elitist Encounters  

by K. Marguerite Caronna

Whether verbal, emotional, or physical, abuse is often fatal—especially for women. The glorification of an abusive couple, even if humorous, feels tone deaf these days. Director KJ Sanchez provides an imaginative, glamorous Argentine veneer for a predictable comedy of rich people displaying shockingly bad manners.

Such is the problem with Noel Coward’s “Private Lives” (1930) that barely conceals the heartlessness of the Roaring 20s. The play has all the attributes of whipcrack dialogue suitable for an early rom-com, and the quartet of actors deliver their lines with alacrity.

Tanya Orellana’s beautiful set opens at a sherbet-colored Art Nouveau inspired beach resort, with giant side-by-side terraces. Yes, door slamming will ensue.

Comments by the characters about a yacht docked below underscore the swanky atmosphere. Honeymoon Couple Number One, Elyot (Hugo E Carbajal) and Sibyl Chase (Gianna Digregorio Rivera), fence over their love. He is older and divorced; she is younger and naive. She wants to know about his former wife and he frantically avoids the subject.

Carbajal is fully present with masculine energy. Rivera is perfect as the dewy-eyed ingenue with a wail like nails on blackboard.

Couple Number Two are Victor (Brady Morales-Woolery)—stuffy, insecure, and combative—and Amada Prynne (Sarita Ocón), his elegant and mercurial new wife.  The two mismatched honeymoon couples tease each other relentlessly, giving tit for tat.

Sibyl cannot stop asking about Elyot’s ex-wife, Amanda. And Victor cannot stop asking about Amanda’s ex, Elyot. Amanda and Elyot still cling to their contentious former marriage. Their farcical over-reactions when they meet on the adjoining terraces signal disaster for their new marriages. They ride a roller coaster of full on love and repeated attacks.

That Amanda and Elyot should re-unite after a five-year hiatus, is no surprise. Without hesitation, they are in a sensual tango embrace. The former couple flees to Amanda’s magnificent Montevideo Art Deco apartment—falling into luxurious conceit.

“Private Lives” features sensual Brazilian tango which highlights their self-delusion—as they threaten each other physically. Talented Carbajal and Ocón sing sweet songs with beautiful voices. Carbajal delights with moments of brilliant physical comedy that threatens her life.

Their violent bickering escalates into a comedic physical fight, the highlight of the show.

Suddenly Sibyl and Victor, the discarded new spouses, arrive to “talk.” But they fall into the same destructive pattern as their mentors—all badly behaved elites. Although the performances are spot on, the play becomes repetitive and a bit stale. These wealthy couples thrive on discord.

The characters appear as superficial, self-absorbed beings with no background or character development. They prosper in affluent surroundings, sporting Jessie Amoroso’s exquisite, fashionable period styles. We expect the preoccupied players to pose for selfies at any moment.

If Coward intended to show the idle rich as self-absorbed caricatures, then so be it. Given the lack of remorse shown by the reunited couple, the playwright inserts a few lines of conscience—quickly discarded. The Chases blithely betray and abandon their new spouses. What may have titillated decades ago is not particularly interesting, or humorous.

Illuminated by Coward’s witty phrasing, the delectable setting, and Latin rhythms, the Jazz Age crassness persists. Women are treated badly, and careless elitism rules.  Do we laugh at them or lose hope that change will ever come? Selfies anyone?

“Private Lives” by Noel Coward, directed by KJ Sanchez, scenic design by Tanya Orellana, costumes by Jessie Amoroso, lighting by Scott Bolman,  sound by Jake Rodriguez, at American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco. Info: act-sf.org – to October 6, 2024.

Cast: Hugo E Carbajal, Gianna DiGregorio Rivera, Brady Morales-Woolery, and Sarita Ocón.

Banner photo: Hugo E Carbajal & Sarita Ocón on adjoining terraces. Photos by Kevin Berne